What We Do On Rainy Days
by Crazyfangirl23
Summary: The Doctor plays Mario Kart...


Clara finally had learnt her lesson: Never play Mario Kart with The Doctor.

She had learnt this from near on five years of travelling with her remarkable Time Lord. Three with Eleven, and nearing two with Twelve. And she loved them both. She still could feel the emptiness of Eleven's cheery and childlike smile and the way he twirled and danced in front of her. She missed the flirt, the kisses, the face touching. After all, three years had made them inseparably close. She never told anyone though, that she was secretly sleeping with an alien that wore fezzes and bow ties.

So of course she had been heartbroken when he finally regenerated. She could still feel the tears trickling down her face at the last phone call he had given her, hearing his broken yet angelic voice tell her not to abandon him. And she never would. Never ever again. Even if something happened, she would always be with The Doctor, in one way or another.

And then Twelve came along. She had to admit, she had gotten an unexpected surprise. But she warmed to him, his hard shell of recklessness and rudeness and inferior attitude deteriorating. And she saw his deeply caring and beautiful side which made her heart melt. She liked to ruffle his silver hair and admire the way his scowl could turn into a smile when she did, or when he finally drew up the confidence to hug her back and whirl her in the air exactly like his previous incarnation. Soon those hugs turned into the reminiscent cheek and forehead kisses, and her feelings grew again to a tumultuous burst of love and lust. She hadn't told Twelve yet, of course. He probably didn't even remember all the nights she spent with him. But still, everything was spectacular and amazing, as always.

It had started on a particularly rainy and depressing day. Clara was reading a book by her favourite author, Amelia Williams. Engrossed in it, her hair swinging forward and her head bent with concentration, she didn't know he was there until his voice reached her.

'Clara!' He boomed, smiling widely and throwing his arms up in the air.

'Doctor.' She smiled back, momentarily closing her book and marking the page. 'Where are we going today?' She asked, springing up from her chair and bouncing to the console.

'Well, I though it would be nice to stay in today, Clara.'

'Why? And where have you been? You've been gone for half an hour.' She asked suspiciously, raising her eyebrows.

'I was sorting through some things in my bedroom.'

Clara raised her eyebrows again suggestively, and smiled coyly at the embarrassment on his face as he flicked his floppy hair back.

'Now, now Clara. I didn't mean 'stay in' as...y'know.' He said, his eyes flicking to her for a moment as she raised her eyebrows even further.

He opened and closed his mouth like a goldfish, trying to form coherent words but completely speechless.

She laughed at him.

'Anyway, guess what I found Clara?' His eyes lighting up and his huge grin making her smile.

'A Wii!'

'Excuse me?'

'A Wii! Like, you know, the console!'

'Oh.' She said. 'And you want to play games instead of seeing the universe?'

'We see the universe practically every week. You've even let me take you out on not-Wednesdays. I thought it would be fun!' He told her enthusiastically, clapping his hands together and rubbing them in excitement. She couldn't resist his dorky smile.

'Fine then,' she said, tapping her fingers on the console, 'what game are we playing?'

'Mario Kart!'

'What? Mario Kart?' She said disappointingly.

'Well, yes. It is kind of the only one I have.'

'The only one? I'd have thought you would have an endless collection.'

'No, I don't. I'm not the gaming collector type. I prefer watching geomagnetic storms and saving civilisations and wearing bow ties.' He said, twirling around.

'So, isn't that what we should be doing?'

'No!' He called, walking over to the side panel. 'I want to see what humans can do with funny remote controls and weird creatures that drive around in weird cars.'

'Fair enough. Do you have a telly to play on, then?'

'Should have...' He countered, disappearing into the corridor. After five minutes of standing there waiting with her arms folded she decided to follow him. She knew what the TARDIS was like, but she at least wanted to make sure he wasn't in trouble.

'Doctor?' She called, walking down the endless corridors.

'Clara?' He said, his head poking up out from behind a TV. 'I found one!' He exclaimed, pointing at the flat screen. 'Knew I had one somewhere.'

'Good job.' She made her way through the odd junk to the TV, where the Doctor was wiring it up.

'Ooh comfy chairs.' She said, sinking into one and watching him untangle the wires. He smiled at her while he did it.

'Yeah I found them, thought they'd be perfect for playing video games in.'

He finally sorted everything out, Clara handing him the sonic.

It was in no time that they were playing, and the sound of his laughter and excitement thrilled her. His elbows stuck out while turning the wheel left and right and he was on the edge of his seat. He mostly made comments at the TV screen like 'Come on, that was unfair. I only shelled you once!' and 'Oi, stop bumping into me, Mario!'

Clara played alongside him, concentrating on the game but listening to his ad lib. She quickly found out that The Doctor, while genius at saving planets and fixing appliances, sucked at Mario Kart. She overtook and beat him easily, watching his face contort in despair as he came in 11th.

'Maybe I need to play it some more to get the hang of it.' He suggested brightly.

'We've already played ten games!'

'Please, Clara? I'll let you be the boss the next time we travel.'

'Fine.' She said, grabbing her wheel.

He finally managed to triumph in one game, which lifted his spirits entirely.

'I did it Clara! I won!' He exclaimed, throwing his hands up again and dancing round the room. She giggled, and he pulled her up and spun her around in victory. He played again and again and she watched him fondly. He looked like a ten year old child. They played again, his confidence helping him achieve a higher score. She saw the delight in his face and it seared into her brain forever.

••••

Clara opened the doors to the TARDIS, walking over to The Doctor, who was fixing something on the console and concentrating so completely he hadn't heard her come in.

'Are you okay?' She asked, leaning closer into him that weeks ago would not have been appreciated.

'Clara! Clara, I'm not having a good day. Fixing this...'

'So, are we going anywhere today?' She interjected.

'We can if you want. We could go to the Orion constellation - still haven't seen that yet, been meaning to - and see what's up there. Or another planet, or to the 3030 Olympics.' He suggested, illuminating his sonic screwdriver.

'Well, I was wondering if we could stay here today. In the TARDIS.'

'Why?' He said, straightening up with a scowl on his face, 'going somewhere or doing something fascinating might just improve my mood.'

'And I think I might just know what.' She said, arms crossed.

'What?'

'Well...we haven't played Mario Kart in a while.'

The Doctor's face was blank. 'Mario Kart?' He said, making it sound funny in his Scottish accent. His eyebrows narrowed, and then comprehension dawned on his face and his eyes widened.

'Oh, yes, Mario Kart.' He said. Then he made a raspberry noise and turned his back on her, walking to the other end of the console. Following him, she said 'you used to love playing Mario Kart.'

'And I used to wear tweed and a bow tie.' He mocked, laughing at what he thought was his own former stupidity.

'Oh come on, Doctor. It might give you another chance to actually win.'

'I did win!' He told her accusingly.

'Once.' She reminded him, leaning into the console.

'Why do you want to play that anyway? Think of all the things we could see and do right now!'

'Because that's what you told me one rainy day,' She retorted, smiling at both him and the memory, 'it's a rainy day.' She commented, raising her eyebrows.

'Do you seriously want to play it?'

'I think you don't just because you'll come last again.'

'Right!' He said, walking to the corridor. 'Let's play. I'll prove you wrong.'

She glanced at him, her eyes dancing with amusement and laughter. He couldn't resist a challenge. She followed him to the same room they had been in the last time, the Wii console still plugged in, forgotten. She turned it on, setting it up and started to play. This time The Doctor laid back in his chair carelessly, the wheel loosely placed in his hands and his forehead creasing in concentration and budding anger. He started to shout at the screen, swerving his wheel sharply. 'Hey! You, Bowser! I've saved galaxies, prevented the world from ending and saved Clara so you can stop sending me lightning bolts and worry about the future of your race!' He said angrily, his face turning red. He dropped the controller in anger when he came 12th. Clara laughed. 'I knew you were still terrible at it.'

'I'm not terrible! It was that idiot!' He said, pointing to the screen at one of the characters, 'and that one!' He pointed to another, 'and that one, and that one...'

'I'm sure they were playing the game just as fairly-'

'Fairly?! He bumped into me three times, she threw shells at me, he sent bombs and-'

'Doctor, it's just a game. Plus, last time you wouldn't give up until you had won one.'

'I'll play once more, then. I'll definitely beat you next time.' He smiled, taking the wheel and furiously racing his way round the bends and jumping over objects. Of course, he didn't stick to his word. He played again and again until he finally came out on top. He smiled at her, and she smiled back at him, shaking her head. Clara reminisced the burst of déjà vu as she saw him, Twelve, his face as delighted and enthusiastic as Eleven's was in that exact same moment of victory. The Doctor never changed. Not to her.


End file.
